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Justin Herbert sat in a chair at his locker, motionless, hands on his knees, a blank stare on his face. It did not look like it, but he was listening.
Defensive lineman Morgan Fox was sitting on the floor to Herbert’s right. Fox was talking in a hushed tone to the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback.
“I just told him I’m proud of him,” Fox said. “No one else I’d rather go to war with. That he’s probably the best quarterback I’ve ever played with. He’s great. He’s incredibly talented. Just told him to keep his head up.”
After about a minute, Fox popped up, gave Herbert a hug and walked to his locker on the other side of the room.
Then Herbert was alone. Left with his own thoughts. Left with the irrepressible stinging of another early playoff exit.
The Chargers lost to the Houston Texans 32-12 on Saturday at NRG Stadium. A dramatic turnaround engineered by coach Jim Harbaugh ended with a whimper in the wild-card round. Herbert threw four interceptions. He had never turned the ball over more than twice in any game in his professional career.
“I let the team down,” Herbert said.
Herbert always takes the blame after losses. Most times, he is just being a good teammate. This time, his assessment is accurate.
He played the worst game of his career in the biggest game of his career.
“No one feels worse than I do,” Herbert said.
What awaits is an unavoidable avalanche of questions and criticism. It is the nature of the position he plays. It is the nature of the immense contract he signed.
He will hear the noise for at least another 12 months, until his next potential chance at a playoff win.
Herbert is outrageously talented. No quarterback in NFL history has thrown for more yards through five seasons. He does things on a football field that few humans, if any, have ever been able to do. But athletes are ultimately judged on how they perform when the lights are brightest, when a championship hangs in the balance. Herbert wilted on the grand stage, and he is now 0-2 in the playoffs.
Herbert’s last postseason appearance came in 2022. He helped build a 27-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round. The Chargers collapsed. Herbert missed a wide-open Keenan Allen in the end zone late in the first half of that game. But Herbert played well enough for the Chargers to win. They could not run the ball in the second half. They committed backbreaking penalty after backbreaking penalty as part of a defensive unraveling.
Saturday was different. No amount of nuance or context can explain this one away. Herbert looked tight. He made uncharacteristically bad decisions. He made uncharacteristically inaccurate throws.
Herbert had thrown three interceptions on 504 attempts in the regular season. His four interceptions against the Texans came on 32 attempts. He completed just 14 passes. His 43.8 completion percentage was the worst of his career. He averaged minus-0.59 expected points added per dropback, according to TruMedia, the lowest mark of his career in any game he started and finished.
Harbaugh said Herbert played “like he always does.”
“Complete beast,” Harbaugh added.
But that’s just not true.
Early in the second quarter, the Chargers led 6-0. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud floated a throw down the left sideline to no one in particular. Cornerback Deane Leonard was waiting and came down with the interception, tapping both toes inbounds along the sideline.
The Chargers took over at the Texans’ 40-yard line. On the first play of the possession, the Chargers rolled Herbert out to the right on a designed bootleg. There was pressure in Herbert’s face, as there was all game long. He threw off balance to receiver Quentin Johnston on a corner route, all the way across the field. It was an unnecessarily risky throw. It was underthrown. Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter picked it off. The Chargers needed fewer than five yards to get into Cameron Dicker’s field goal range. This throw took points off the board.
“Got to be better about that, throw the ball away, throw it further,” Herbert said. “Got to do a better job of not putting it in harm’s way.”
Herbert needs more weapons. McConkey caught nine passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. No other Chargers player caught more than two passes. That must be a focus for the organization this offseason. It has to add receivers and a tight end.
Dissly had a commendable season, but he had two crucial drops. The interception was his second drop. The first came on a second-and-19 in the first quarter. Safety Alohi Gilman had just forced a fumble on the Texans’ opening offensive play, setting the Chargers up in opposing territory.
Herbert escaped pressure and found Dissly near the left sideline. Dissly would have been close to first-down yardage. A catch would have at least made the ensuing third down more manageable. The Chargers settled for a field goal.
Said J.K. Dobbins, who had nine carries for 26 yards, including only one carry in the second half.
We got to score.
There were other missed opportunities, in all three phases. The Texans trailed 6-0 late in the first half and faced a third-and-16, backed up inside their own 20. Stroud dropped the shotgun snap. The ball was loose. But Stroud was able to pick the ball up, escape to his right and find receiver Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain. That sparked a 99-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a Nico Collins touchdown reception. Collins had seven catches for 122 yards. Cornerback Kristian Fulton struggled to match up with the big-bodied receiver.
Safety Derwin James Jr. said the coverage was “a little off” on Stroud’s scoop-and-sling because of the fumbled snap.
“It kind of turned the game,” James said.
“It went his way,” Gilman said.
Early in the second half, the Chargers faced a fourth-and-2 from the Texans’ 34-yard line. They had gotten the ball back on another turnover, this one a forced fumble and recovery from safety Tony Jefferson. Harbaugh went for it. Herbert took an under-center snap and faked a handoff to running back Hassan Haskins. Johnston was running a whip route to the right side, feinting to the inside before cutting to the flat. Herbert threw to Johnston, who was jammed at the line by Stingley. The pass fell incomplete. Johnston did not run his route to the first-down marker.
Harbaugh said the design of the play called for Johnston “to be deeper.”
“Sometimes the release, the coverage affects that,” Harbaugh added. “I would have liked to have called a different play or kicked the field goal there.”
It was a game littered with missed opportunities. The Chargers had a punt blocked and an extra point blocked on special teams. The extra point was returned for a Texans two-point conversion, turning a McConkey 86-yard touchdown into just a four-point swing.
The end result was Herbert missing the biggest opportunity of his career so far.
“He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever played with,” Alt said.
“Our heart beats through 10,” center Bradley Bozeman said. “He’s the leader of this team. He’s a damn good football player.”
Herbert is now following the early career trajectory of Peyton Manning, the player he passed for most passing yards through his first five seasons.
Manning made the playoffs three times in his first five seasons. He went 0-3. In his fifth season, his Indianapolis Colts lost 41-0 to the New York Jets in the wild-card round. Manning completed 14 of 31 passes for 137 yards and two interceptions.
The next season, Manning won the MVP. The Colts won two playoff games and made it to the AFC Championship Game.
There is precedent for an extremely talented quarterback struggling early in his career before getting over the hump.
But just like Manning, Herbert will face questions and criticism.
Until he shows up.
“I put the team in jeopardy,” Herbert said. “That’s on me to get better and keep pushing forward.”
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